School Daze
by Crossover Diva
Summary: Sequel to New Beginnings. Their senior year, Apocalypse is still at large and there are problems to deal with at home as well. Remy will be forced to choose which life he wants to lead. Takes place during the early part of the final season. Romy, Kiotr
1. 2 Become 1

**FYI:**  
>I do not own the X-Men or "2 Become 1" by Jewel<p>

**Authors Note:**  
>Also, this is a sequel to one of my other stories "New Beginnings". If you've already read it, welcome back to the ROMYness. If you haven't, may I suggest you do because it'll help to explain some things. Such as why Remy doesn't get zapped by Rogue. Just fyi.<p>

Also, my apologies for taking so long between stories. Thanks to Netflix and being able to watch the series again...and again, I noticed quite a few continuity mistakes that I had to fix. Of course, the worst was in the first chapter. *grumbles and shakes a fist at my sixteen year old self*

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Island In The Sun<strong>

* * *

><p>In the space of a single month, it seemed as if Rogue's entire world had changed. She had gone from being closed off from the world, to suddenly finding the world to be a refreshing, and even welcoming place. It certainly helped that in that span of time, Rogue had found the only person in the world immune to her mutant abilities. And it was of even greater benefit because he actually liked her enough that he wanted to touch her.<p>

She blushed at the thought as she sat on the bench and watched Remy fooling around. He was having far too much fun stretching his shoulder back out again now that Dr. McCoy had given him a clean bill of health. It was amazing how quickly his shoulder had healed, but probably a good thing too as he'd been going stir crazy in the meantime.

Remy pushed himself up into a one armed hand stand before pushing off into a back flip. Rogue just laughed and shook her head. "If ya ain't careful, yo' gonna get hurt again," she warned him as she did her best to go back to focusing on the book she'd brought outside with her.

He quickly strode behind the bench and leaned over her shoulder to whisper into her ear. "Y' worry t' much, Marie."

She spun around quickly and slammed her book shut as she stared up into his red on black eyes. "Ah told ya ta stop usin' mah real name."

He looked more than a little shocked by her outburst as he pulled back slightly. "What's de big deal about a name, _Chere_?"

"That name is mah connection ta Mystique. 'S the name she gave meh. Ah'm not entirely sure Ah want ta use it. Especially after what happened. An' we still don' e'en know why she did it."

Remy sighed as he met her gaze evenly and lowered himself to squat so they were of equal height. "_Chere_, we might ne'er know what goes on in de mind of dat _femme fou_." Rogue sighed as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to forget how Mystique had appeared the last time they'd seen her. She hadn't looked herself, she hadn't even really acted like herself. "But y' safe now, _Chere_. Remy won' let nobody hurt y'." Rogue sighed and closed her eyes as he leaned forward again and kissed her cheek.

* * *

><p>Rogue was probably among the minority of people not looking forward to being a senior and starting back to school the next day. Aside from herself, the only others from the institute that were in her grade were Remy, Piotr and Kurt. And the last was still not exactly on speaking terms with her. She sighed as she yanked open a dresser drawer and began to paw through it trying to decide what to wear the next morning.<p>

Rogue nearly shouted in surprise when Kitty appeared peering over her shoulder. "You really shouldn't wear that," the petite brunette advised. Rogue spun, grabbing the offensive article in clothing and stared at her roommate in surprise. "Sorry, I keep forgetting that you don't hear me coming if I phase through the door," Kitty said offering an apologetic smile. "Why don't you wear that really cute off the shoulder purple shirt? Or perhaps the green one the laces up at the neckline. Or...I know!" Kitty dove into the dresser with excitement and pulled out a deep green top with a deep cut V-neck and bell sleeves. "Remy won't be able to pay attention in class at all if you wear this!" Rogue held a hand over her mouth in order to hide her smirk knowing that Kitty was completely right. She folded up the shirt in her hands and closed the dresser. "Thanks, Kitty," she said taking the shirt from her and threw it over the back of her desk chair. Rogue ducked inside of the walk in closet and came back out carrying her bomber jacket and it was all Kitty could do to keep the 'Ah, so cute' look off her face. "I can't believe you're graduating this year."

"That makes two of us," Rogue said with a chuckle. "Ah haven't a clue what Ah'm gonna do next."

"Think you'll stay like Scott and Jean?"

"Maybeh," Rogue said noncommittally. She ran her fingers over the leather of the bomber and wondered about that possibility. Scott was attending a community college in Bayville while Jean was attending Cornell and commuting back to spend the weekends at the institute. Going to college, however, meant that she had some kind of clue as to what she wanted to do with her life. She hadn't ever given it much consideration much like she'd never given relationships much consideration before now.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Rogue and Kitty had pulled together an outfit that managed to cover almost every square inch of Rogue's skin but that wasn't making Rogue look like she was two months early for Halloween. As much as Kitty liked to shop, Rogue wasn't exactly a fan. But it was looking more and more like Rogue would need to spend a long Saturday refitting her wardrobe. As Kitty was drifting off to sleep, Rogue pulled her bomber jacket out and tossed it over the back of her desk chair before exiting the room.<p>

It was still relatively early, so Rogue headed downstairs to the living room and found that it was bursting with activity. Everything was going at once-the radio, the TV, and even a gaming system on a second TV. Yet, the younger students were still able to easily drown out all the background noise with their excited chatter about starting at the high school. Most of them were going to be sophomores this year.

"_Bonsoir, Chere_." Rogue smiled at Remy's greeting and sat down on the arm of his chair only to be pulled into his lap as he kissed her cheek. Noticing that she didn't seem to be quite as thrilled as everyone else, he playfully tugged at the white strands of hair. "What's de matter? Y' ain't excited like de ot'ers."

"How can Ah be excited 'bout goin' ta a place where Ah'm not wanted?" she asked with a sigh. "You were there at graduation. Ah'm gonna be public enemy number one at that school."

Remy looked thoughtful and nodded. "True, Red still hasn' forgiven y' f' dat one."

"Hey! Ah was under mind control," Rogue said defensively as she gave Remy a playful push. Although the reminder was painful. She knew that she wasn't going to have any friends at Bayville this year after that incident. Not like she'd really had any before though.

"My friends, have you seen Kitty tonight?" Piotr asked as he walked into the room and there was a parting of the sea of freshmen and sophomores to make room for his large presence.

"Ah jus' left her upstairs," Rogue answered. "Ah think she's still tryin' ta decide what ta wear tamorrow."

"Oh, then I will just check on her quickly," Piotr said before walking away in his slow manner. Rogue smiled at his back before looking back down at Remy who winked at her. Piotr and Kitty had officially become a couple less than week ago and now they were barely seen apart. Remy liked to claim that it was his doing but Rogue had a feeling that Piotr just didn't know how to say no to Kitty.

Rogue turned to look back at Remy and he smiled under her attentions. "What y' say t' a walk, _Chere_? We should enjoy our last night b'fore school, _non_?" he asked as he took her hand and gently spun her up onto her feet before standing himself. he wrapped an around her waist and led her out of the crowded living room and she could barely hide the color rising in her cheeks from his attentions.

As they walked, she bowed her head and let her mind wander in thought, but Remy was unsatisfied with her silence as he began to tickler her. She let out a peal of laughter before taking off at a run down the hall, glancing back over her shoulder to see that he wasn't far behind her. Suddenly, she hit what felt like a brick wall and fell backwards into Remy who barely caught her as they both fell to the ground. She playfully pushed him away before looking up to see who she'd run into. "Sorry, Logan," she said trying to push herself up to stand.

"You need to pay more attention to where you're going, Stripes. That could have made for a bad day for someone," Logan commented as he offered her a hand and she slowly accepted it.

She blushed furiously knowing that he was right. Unfortunately, having Remy around had made her slightly more lax on what she wore and on the rare occasion, even a little lax on her behavior when she was around others too. "Sorry," she murmured softly and could feel Remy's arm wrap around her waist from behind as he recovered his feet.

"And you, Gumbo, need to try to behave yourself. We can't have you causing trouble at the school," Logan said she crossed his arms over his chest and turned a dark look up at the Cajun boy.

"Remy know how to' b'have, _Monsieur_," Remy replied coldly. "Ain't gonna go causin' no trouble f' de professor. Remy knows plenty well how sticky t'ings be."

Logan didn't look impressed by Remy's attitude or speech as he flexed his fingers causing the knuckles to crack ominously. "So then maybe you could fill me in as to what happened to my bike," Logan growled.

Rogue glanced upwards at Remy and sighed as Remy's mouth twitched upwards into a smirk. "Remy," she admonished. "Ya promised meh ya'd stop doin' that."

Remy just gave a weak shrug. "Key's in de ignition an' de tank is full. It was jus' a joke, _Monsieur_."

Logan let out a low snarl as he shook his head. "If you want people to think you've changed, Gumbo, you might want to start joking around a little less."

As Rogue turned her head to look back at Logan, all she saw was his back as he'd turned on his heel to go back the way he'd come. "He really ain't so bad," Rogue said gazing back up at Remy. "He's just overly protective."

Remy sighed before leaning down to kiss Rogue's cheek gently. "Jus' never been used t' some_une_ tellin' _moi_ what t' do, _Chere_."

"Ya do look like a cat somebody rubbed the wrong way," Rogue teased noting the glint in his eyes and she smiled. She reached up and gently patted his long hair down before tweaking his nose.

"Jus' can't be nobody but Remy, _Chere_. Ain't everybody gonna like it." He traced her jawline gently with his thumb and she smiled at his touch.

Finally she sighed and reached up to pull his hand back down. "Yo' gonna have ta chill on that a li'l while we're in school. Yo'll give someone a heart attack."

"Heart attack, _non_. Jealousy seems more like it," he said dipping in to kiss her. She didn't fight him as she silently relished the touch of his warm lips against her own. As they parted, she looked up at him through her eyelashes to see that his gaze had softened. It was no longer playful as normal, but rather a smoldering look that seemed to burn through her. She licked her lips as she bashfully glanced down away from his gaze. "What's de matter, _Chere_?"

"Ah was jus' thinkin' we're gonna have ta do somethin' 'bout yo' eyes," she said glancing back up to see that Remy had jerked up straight at her suggestion.

"What's de matter wit' _ma_ eyes?"

"Well, mos' people..." her voice trailed off as she sighed realizing how upset he was by the mere suggestion that something was even wrong with his appearance. "They wouldn' understand, Remy. They'd be scared'a ya."

He stepped back from her and frowned. "Den let 'em. Remy ain't gonna hide who he is f' nobody."

Rogue sighed in frustration as she pulled herself up to her full height which seemed like nothing compared to him. "Ah ain't askin' ya ta hide. Ya can still be yo'self, arrogant an' foolhardy as that is, jus' wear some damn sunglasses or somethin'," she snapped crossing her arms over her chest. "Ah'd like ta make it ta first period without havin' ta get an anti-mutant protestor sign swung in mah direction because mah boyfriend insists on showin' off his demon eyes ta the world."

Remy's teeth gritted as he fought the urge to argue back with her. Finally he just shook his head and walked away and Rogue was left to stand in the center of the hallway in shock as she watched his lanky frame disappear around the corner. Finally she rushed forward to catch up to him but found the hallway to be empty aside from a pair of curtains billowing in the breeze. She sighed in defeat as she approached the open window and sat down on the windowsill and looked out into the night. The moon was hanging full in the sky above her and provided plenty of light across the wide open lawn but Remy was either too quick or too sneaky to be seen.

* * *

><p>Gambit rolled over restlessly in bed and stared at the alarm clock. The red numbers seemed to taunt him as they spelled out 2:18 AM. He frowned and closed his eyes again allowing himself to get lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't figure out what was even occupying his brain so much that he couldn't sleep. There was the possibility that he was nervous about going back to school, but he was guessing that it had more to do with the early morning training session. Now that he was back up to full steam again, he was 'allowed' to go back to training. He let out a soft sigh. They'd never had anything that even closely resembled training when he'd been under Magneto's roof.<p>

There was also the fact that he had ended his night by storming off on Rogue. He sighed as he rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Finally he sat up and tossed the covers aside as he got up and left the room, silently closing the door behind him. He leaned back against the door and sighed heavily. It had not been his intention to get upset with Rogue. How was she to know that he'd spent his entire life being told to hide who he was? In Faban's Mob, he'd been instructed on how to blend in and disappear. Little boys with bright red eyes tend to stand out. _Le Diable Blanc _had not been some beloved moniker from his family. It had started out as a ruse to get him to react, to prove that he wasn't worthy of the Guilds. His eyes had always set him apart as being different from them even before he'd discovered his mutant powers. If it hadn't been for adopting his devil-may-care attitude, it might have done him in, but instead, he'd embraced his differences and he'd come out stronger for it. How could she understand?

He sighed again as he rolled to lean on one shoulder and gazed down the hall. It seemed nearly endless as it stretched from one wing of the mansion to the other. Essentially, an invisible line over the main staircase separated the boys' wing from the girls'. Rogue would be long gone to her dreams already by this hour and he would certainly catch hell from one of the instructors if he was caught trying to sneak into her room to apologize. He smirked as the idea rolled around in his head and the longer it stayed there, the more of a challenge it became to him.

He walked quickly, his long strides carrying him down the hall only occasionally making a slightly sideways step, or a longer or shorter one in order to miss a creaky floorboard. It had not taken him long to learn where every loose floorboard in the mansion was. He made another sideways step just outside her bedroom door and leaned out to wrap his hand around the doorknob. It turned easily, not surprising that it would be unlocked and he swung it in to reveal a bedroom cast in the pale blue light of the moon from their open balcony doors. Kitty slept in the bed closest to the door while Rogue lay facing the open balcony. Remy stepped inside, another long step to miss the creaky board just inside their room and swung the door shut behind him. A half dozen more strides and he was standing over Rogue's bed watching her sleep, one hand behind her head, the other gently resting on her chest as it rose and fell with each sleeping breath.

He buried his hands into the pockets of his pajama bottoms and smirked. For some reason, all of his anger and frustration was forgotten and he wanted nothing more than to forget his past and think of nothing but the future. Strange, because he had never before looked forward to his future. It had always been a day-to-day struggle for survival and if a little fun and pleasure presented itself along the way, all the better.

Remy carefully laid down beside Rogue so that he had his head propped up slightly so that he could continue to watch her sleep as the moonlight splashed against her milky white skin. She stirred and started when she saw him lying in her bed. He quickly placed a finger over her lips to silence her as she sat up straight to stare down at him. "What the hell are ya doin' here?" she hissed.

He shrugged nonchalantly and gave her a playful pout. "Remy felt bad 'bout earlier. Came t' apologize t' _ma chérie_."

Rogue blinked dumbly at him and slowly settled back down to lie beside him. "Do ya know what time it is?"

He stretched his neck slightly so that he could look over her and then eased back down into the pillows. "_C'est_ _deux_-_quarante-sept_."

She just groaned as she rested a hand over her eyes. "Yo' lucky Kitty didn' wake up. She coulda roused half the half an' then the adults would have had both our hides fo' yo' li'l stunt."

Remy brushed his fingers through the white streaks in her hair and smiled. "_Petite_ has more sense den dat. An' y' know y' glad Remy came, _Chere._"

"Why'd ya run off like that, Remy?" she asked lowering her hand as she looked up at him, her hand finding his as she pulled it gently away from her hip.

"Dey always treated _moi_ different 'cause of _mes yeux_." He frowned slightly as he thought for a moment before continuing. "Jus' hoped dat t'ings would be different here."

"Ah like yo' eyes," Rogue said softly as she gently brushed his long hair away from his eyes so she could see them more clearly as they glowed in the darkness. "Ah like that yo' different."

"Den why y' want Remy t' blend in, _hahn_?"

Rogue sighed as she snuggled into him a little closer. "Because Ah don' want ya ta get hurt. People are scared. Apocalypse ain't helpin' that none. Our own high school principal is practically leadin' the riots. Ah'm jus' scared, Sugah."

Remy wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent from her hair and gently stroked her back until he could hear her breathing level off as she fell asleep again. He slowly disentangled himself and went back to his own room where he instantly fell asleep without any problems.


	2. Danger Room Escapades

**Author's Note:**

I'm purposefully now making a change to the order of episodes in my AU. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me why they're the other way around**. **But I'm claiming that episode three is going to take place before episode two. I mean, let's examine. "Impact" clearly must have been summer. Obviously that's why everyone had so much free time on their hands for an international fact finding field trip. "No Good Deed" clearly has them back in school. That's where Scott picks up Sam and co. before going to the Subway explosion. But Target X is a lot fuzzier. Apparently Bobby and crew have time in the morning to go find Logan in a coffee shop. Also, I'd imagine that Scott and Jean would start teaching before they got busy with college. At least get something under their belt and in hand before they dump additional stress on themselves. Granted, "Sins of the Son" makes you start questioning Jean's dedication to furthering her education if she's taking off to Scotland instead of attending her Chemistry 101 class. So yes, I'm being nit-picky, but I don't care. But, I wanted to be clear that I'm purposefully rearranging the episodes and not just making a timeline mistake. Especially since I was so hard on myself for fixing one in the first chapter.

**FYI:  
><strong>I do not own the X-Men. If I did...season four would have made a hell of a lot more sense. Jean would have been away at college. And I mean _away_. Scott would have been sporadically present...and definitely still not carpooling to the high school. And there wouldn't have been such a lax attitude on class attendance in favor of going to other countries on non-immediate threat related things. It's probably no wonder Kitty and Kurt got sick, she probably brought the swine flu back from Mexico.**  
><strong>

**Chapter 2: Danger Room Escapades  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Rogue squeezed her eyes shut tighter as the alarm beside her bed began to insistently beep. There was the sound of bacon sizzling on a skillet accompanied by the smell of burning plastic followed by Kitty's low curse, "A brokh!" This seemed to be on par with the first day of school for every year thus far. Rogue blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the pale light of Kitty's bedside lamp and stared at her own alarm clock that was still buzzing and beeping in its desperation to get her attention. She reached over and tapped it before rolling over to watch as Kitty frantically tried to pull the plug on what used to be an alarm clockradio that was now spitting out black smoke and occasional a crackle of electricity.

She sighed as she sat up in bed and turned her attention back to her own alarm clock again and squinted at the buttons pressing them in the correct order to make sure that it didn't start to go off again in five more minutes. Meanwhile, Kitty continued to mutter darkly as she uttered Yiddish curses onto the already dead alarm clock. Rogue threw back the covers and slid her feet out onto the floor and watched as something fluttered to the floor beside her foot. She stood, then reached down to pick up what turned out to be a playing card featuring the queen of hearts. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear that these cards just magically spewed from Remy's essence. But she smiled realizing that she hadn't been dreaming after all.

She tucked the playing card into the edge of a frame on her bedside table picturing herself and Remy. Kitty had managed to capture the moment as Remy had tossed Rogue over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Rogue's face was a mixture of laughter and frustration as she pounded on Remy's back for him to let her go as he looked back over his other shoulder at her. She let her fingers trail over the edge of the frame slowly as her eyes landed on her X-Men uniform that was tossed casually over the back of her vanity chair.

She slipped into the spandex before digging in her dresser drawers to come up with her favorite pair of leather gloves. Putting on the soft, brown leather over her pale hands reminded her that she needed to ask Ororo if she could possible get a new uniform in something other than black. Green perhaps?

Glancing over her shoulder, she could see that Kitty was hopping from one foot to the other as she was getting into her uniform as well. For once, the early morning bird didn't seem quite as spry as she normally did. Granted, this training was coming earlier than usual and it also usually took a cup of coffee for Kitty to be at her most alert. For now, it was going to be a while before either of them saw coffee or breakfast.

Their early morning ritual of getting ready was carried out in near silence and they could make out the noise growing as the other students became more awake and restless. After a few more moments, there was the pounding of feet in the hallway as they began to make their way to the elevators quickly. No one wanted to be the last one to the Danger Room and attract Scott and Jean's attention to their tardiness.

Rogue didn't give a damn. They were only a year older than her and she'd be damned if she was going to treat them with even half the respect she afforded Logan, Ororo or Beast.

"Ready to face the music?" Kitty asked as a grin started to overcome her frustration from the alarm clock earlier.

"Not really," Rogue sighed. While she didn't plan to respect Scott and Jean as instructors, it didn't mean she could get out of training with everyone. She'd heard from the younger students how much of a bore the classroom studies had been and how tough they'd been as teachers.

They left their room and were nearly run over as Amara took off at high speed trying to catch up to the others. "Wait for me guys!" she waved her hand as Ray disappeared around the corner.

Rogue rolled her eyes at Amara's rush as they walked calmly to the elevators and reached them just as the doors closed on the younger students and they had to wait until it would come back for them. Rogue sighed as she leaned back against the wall and raised her eyebrows when she saw Remy and Piotr coming from the opposite direction. Kitty broke into a broad grin at the sight of her boyfriend wearing his uniform and bounded forward as she gave Piotr a flying leap of a hug. Even Rogue had to admit that Piotr made the uniforms look good.

But Rogue's eyes were on Remy whom she'd never seen in an X-Men uniform and a small part of her had been looking forward to this morning for that very reason. But, she supposed now, she would never get to enjoy that early morning vision as he had on his usual trench coat over a pair of black pants, knee high metal boots, a heavy black shirt that looked like it could deflect knives, and a silk shirt over that. In fact, there was hardly a difference to be seen between what he wore now and what he'd worn under the service of Magneto. She frowned realizing that this would most likely cause more than few minor problems with Scott. "Where's yo' uniform, Swamp Rat?"

"G' mornin' t' y' too, _Chere_," he said with a small wave and bow. "Dis be style," he said waving his hand down in front of himself and Kitty giggled. "Dat an' de spandex was restrictin'."

Rogue just rolled her eyes at his antics. "This comin' from the guy who wears leather pants," she sighed.

Their elevator came and they rode it down to the lower levels of the mansion. The Danger Room doors still stood open waiting for their arrival and inside they found everyone had already assembled. Scott and Jean stood apart from the group, even from Kurt, making a clear delineation that they were now in charge.

Kurt glanced their way as they came in and Rogue offered him an apologetic smile only to have him jerk his head away rather than make eye contact. She sighed in frustration as she too turned her attention towards Scott and Jean and wondered just how much all of this was going to their head.

She got her answer quickly. "Where's your uniform?" Scott asked when he saw Remy was wearing anything but. Scott's arms crossed over his chest as he took a wider stance like an animal attempting to make itself look larger and therefore more fierce. He didn't seem to notice that Jean's eyes raked over Remy appreciatively for a brief moment before her expression also grew just as stern.

"Didn' have no pockets, _mon ami_," Remy said reaching into an inner pocket of his jacket to remove a deck of cards and began to cut the deck and reshuffle it with one hand before revealing the joker as he smirked.

Scott frowned and shook his head unamused before turning to face the group as a whole. "Today's training is going to be about facing unexpected opponents. We never know who might take to Apocalypse's side. People are scared and as Mesmero has already shown us, there are those willing to follow him in hopes that they'll be spared." Scott pulled out a small remote from his belt and pressed a button and there was the sound of metal gears turning and the ground shook slightly as the floor parted and walls began to lift up from the ground.

Rogue sidestepped and found herself separated from Kitty, Piotr and Remy and cursed lowly under her breath as she turned. Kurt was standing just a few feet behind her and she hesitated for a moment. They hadn't really been speaking to one another for about a month and it had grown past awkward by now. Even though it'd turned out that Mystique wasn't really dead, Kurt still hadn't forgiven her yet. "Ah'm sorry," she said softly and Kurt just shook his head not ready to forgive her still.

"Let's just get zis over vith, _meine schwester_." Rogue nodded appreciating his cooperation, even if it was minimal. They were now standing in the middle of a giant maze, cut off from the rest of their classmates and after a few failed attempts to pick a direction, they started to make some progress that didn't result in dead ends.

"This is so lame," Rogue sighed. "Ah thought it was gonna end up bein' hard after all the complainin' that Bobby an' Ray did." Kurt just shrugged in response maintaining his overall quiet to Rogue's frustration and disappointment. She was used to the happy Kurt and this was just frustratingly bizarre by comparison. She actually missed his annoyingly jovial and playful moods.

They turned a corner and found someone ahead of them. After a moment, Rogue realized it wasn't one of their classmates and she grabbed Kurt's arm and held him back but it was too late. The figure turned to face them and it was Mystique. At least, it looked like old Mystique, not the version of their mother that Rogue had most recently seen which came as a small relief to her. She still wasn't able to come to terms with Mystique's changed appearance and attitude. She could handle old Mystique who was brutally upfront about her intentions, but this new Mystique had been far too quiet and unsettling. "'S jus' a robot," Rogue hissed when she realized that Kurt was still trying to backpedal away. "'S not her. Jean an' Scott are jus' messin' with us. Seein' what we'll do."

Kurt just violently shook his head, jerked his arm free of Rogue's grasp, and disappeared on her with a 'bamf' and left Rogue coughing on sulfur fumes as she silently cursed him for leaving her alone. Rogue found herself to be quickly drawn into hand to hand combat with the robot that easily had all of Mystique's fighting skills. She caught the robot by the wrist, twisting it around until she could hear the gears grinding against one another as the elbow was bent in the wrong direction. Rogue, planting a foot in the center of the robot's back, managed to bring the robot down to the ground and heaved a sigh of relief that she'd managed to not her her butt handed to her.

It kicked out though, knocking her off her feet and she let out a gasp as she fell onto her back and stared up at the robot now straddling over her. She instinctively removed her glove, reaching up and placed her hand on the robot's face, pushing it up but it was stronger than her and her powers were completely useless against robots. Suddenly, the robot began to glow a hot pink and Rogue panicked, shoving hard against the Robot and pushing it aside and barely managed to scramble up to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her head protectively. The robot exploded and she heaved deep breaths as she turned to look back at the pile of broken pieces of steel and shrapnel that were imbedded in the walls around her. She winced as she looked down and saw that there were a few in her too.

She gently tugged the metal shards free of her uniform and dropped them to the ground trying to ignore the red stains. Strangely though, she felt no pain. She checked the holes in her uniform to see that although they were ragged and touched with red, there was no wound hidden beneath them. She had already healed from the cuts and scrapes.

"_Chere_, y' okay?" Rogue looked up to see Remy running around a corner with Kitty close behind him. Apparently after they explosion, he'd had Kitty take a few shortcuts to get them to her location quickly. Rogue just gave him a feeble nod and he blanched slightly at the sight of so many holes in her uniform and the wrecked robot at her feet. "_Qu'avez-vous fait_?"

"Ah'm still workin' that one out fo' mahself," she admitted as she stepped into his open arms and welcomed the warmth and comfort of his embrace.

The walls began to lower around them and Piotr was running towards them with heavy, clomping strides as he let his armor fall before his steps became a little softer. He took Kitty by the shoulders making sure that she too was okay before glancing over to Remy. "They are alright?"

"I'm totally fine," Kitty answered for herself as she slapped Piotr's bare chest playfully. "You worry way too much. You on the other hand look worse for wear." It was true as Piotr was missing large patches of his brand new uniform. "What happened to you?"

"John," he answered simply.

"Pyro?" Kitty asked as her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Jean and Scott were using like everyone they could think of, huh?"

"Looks dat way, _Petite_," Remy said looking down to see that Mystique's head was still gently rocking back and forth on the floor near his feet.

The other students were now starting to circle around mystified as to why the training had been so abruptly stopped as Jean and Scott pressed through the group to approach. "Are you okay, Rogue?"

Rogue looked up at Scott and nodded before seeing the anger in Jean's expression. "Ah'm fine. It was an accident," she said calmly.

"You could have gotten hurt," Jean reprimanded as she bent over to pick up the remains of the robot's head. "There was no need for that kind of force."

"No, there was no need to pit Kurt an' meh up 'gainst Mystique," Rogue said defensively as she turned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ya knew neither of us would handle it well."

"That was the point of the exercise," Jean replied coldly as she let the robot's head roll out of her hand and fall to the ground with a crack as a few more gears and bolts sprung loose. "And you've made it plainly evident that you aren't ready to deal with her anytime soon."

"It was a damn robot an' Ah know the difference," Rogue snarled. "An' like Ah already tol' ya, it was an accident. Ah didn' realize Ah still had some of Remy's powers left o'er."

Hearing his name, Remy looked back down at the bits of metal around him. It certainly explained how Rogue had managed to create such a fine mess. And her mysteriously nonexistent wounds could be explained too-Logan. She was tapping into abilities she'd borrowed long ago. Remy watched as Jean blanched for a moment and Scott quickly sidestepped between the two girls. He glanced down to see that Rogue's eyes had darkened, turning red on black in her anger. "Chere, y' need t' calm down. Dere's no need t' be mad 'bout it," he said sweeping an arm around her and attempting to spin her around to face him.

"Ah ain't mad," she snapped turning her dark gaze on him instead. "Ah'm pissed. She set meh up for a scenario in which Ah couldn' win no matter what. If Ah didn' beat the Mystique robot, they'd claim Ah wasn' ready ta be in the field. If Ah did, Kurt'll stay madder at meh fo' even longer." Kurt shirked at his mention, bowing his head as he studied the ground. She'd nailed that one on the head. "An now she's all upset b'cause Ah accidentally blew up a robot? Why the hell shouldn' Ah be mad at her?" Rogue quickly brushed Remy off and stalked out of the Danger Room and after a beat, Kitty took off at a run after her. Even when Rogue closed the Danger Room doors behind her, Kitty just phased through them in order to keep up.

"Dat went well, _non_?" Remy asked directing his attention to Scott and Jean. "Gambit understands why y' all enjoy de Danger Room so much. Excitement no matter what." When he didn't get any response aside from gaping stares, he turned towards the exit himself, his long trench coat flaring out behind him.

"Rogue! Rogue, wait!" Kitty called as she ran after her roommate and only caught up with her at the elevator. Her breath came in soft gasps from the added exertion so closely following the Danger Room training. "Kurt's not mad at you. Well, he's upset. But he doesn't hate you at least. He's torn."

"Ah don' care," Rogue muttered stabbing the button for the elevator for the third time in her impatience. "Let 'im be mad all he wants. It won' change nothin'."

"You know he just wishes that he could have a normal family, right? He totally adores you as his sister. He just doesn't understand why you're not as willing to give Mystique the second chances that he does. He'll come around, I promise." Kitty's shoulders drooped when she saw that Rogue wasn't really paying much attention.

"Ah don' care about Kurt right now," Rogue sighed finally. "Ah'm more pissed off about Jean an' her 'you ruined my perfect training session' attitude," Rogue said with a high pitched mimicry to her voice. "Ah'd love ta wipe that look off her face someday."

"Remy like t' see dat, _Chere_." Remy walked up behind Kitty and leaned his shoulder against the wall. "Run along, _Petite_. Remy got it from here." Kitty glanced up at Remy and after a moment nodded before hesitantly turning and heading back to the Danger Room to meet up with the rest of their classmates. "Y' better'n dis, _Chere_. Red ain't wort' y' anger."

"Don' lecture meh," Rogue sighed glancing up as the doors opened. "Ah'll get plenty of that fo' the rest of the day." Remy shrugged as he followed her into the elevator. "An' could ev'ryone stop followin' meh 'round like Ah'm gonna blow somethin' else up?"

"Don' t'ink y' gonna do dat. But it could be fun," Remy teased. "Didn' know y' still had _ma _abilities, _Chere_."

"Neither did Ah," she sighed as she leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Remy pushed the button for the dorm floor and they rode up in silence.

As they disembarked, Remy grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around to face him. "Not dat Ah'm mad, but why y' still holdin' ont' _ma_ abilities, _hahn_? An' Logan's?"

"A-Ah don' know. Logan's always seem ta linger. They're usually not as strong or fast though."

"Y'd tell _moi_ if y' were havin' troubles, _corriger_?" Rogue nodded and Remy smiled gently before leaning down to kiss her forehead. He gently pushed her in the direction of her room and gave her a solid smack on the rear causing her to skip forward as she shot him a look back over her shoulder that could have been interpreted as either anger or amusement. "Y' go get ready. Remy see y' at breakfast, _Chere_," he said with a wink before turning to go back to his own room. They had just parted ways when the elevator doors opened and half of the other students came pouring out as they were trying to get back into their morning routine as quickly as possible.

* * *

><p>Rogue was almost to the kitchen when she heard the professor's voice in her head summoning her to his office. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed under her breath in true Southern fashion. She asked God to bless his soul followed by a few other choice words. She was so close to her morning coffee and bagel that she could smell it.<p>

Reopening her eyes revealed Remy to be standing before her, a mug of black coffee in one hand and a bagel already spread with strawberry cream cheese wrapped in a napkin in the other. "Y' lead de way, _Chere_," he said holding them out in offering to her.

Rogue just blinked before gratefully accepting them and gave Remy a warm smile. "Thanks, Sugah." He flashed her a wide grin in return as he wrapped an arm around her waist as she started to walk, drinking deeply of the dark, bitter liquid. By the time they'd reached the professor's office, she'd finished her coffee and was halfway through her bagel as Remy held open the door for them to go inside.

"Take a seat, both of you please," the professor said with a small wave of his hand. "I didn't necessarily want this to wait until after you returned from school, so you'll have to forgive me for taking the time now."

Rogue was halfway on the road to forgiveness as she held up the bagel in explanation as to why she wasn't nearly as cross as she could have been. The professor just smiled as she took another nibble.

"About this morning's training," the professor started and Rogue nearly choked on her bagel. He hesitated as she coughed for a moment before regaining enough of her composure to give him the stink eye that clearly warned him to tread softly. "You demonstrated that you're able to recall abilities you've borrowed in the past," he continued, "I was wondering if you were struggling with your psyches again as well, Rogue."

Rogue blushed and avoided meeting Remy's curious gaze as he watched her closely. He'd not heard about this before now. "'S fine," she said finally. "Ah've been usin' the techniques ya taught meh ta keep 'em under control. Ah guess that Ah might subconsciously be tappin' inta a few of 'em though. But Ah'm pretty sure Apocalypse wiped meh clean. There's only Logan an' Remy up there an' that few doesn' usually result in any problems."

The professor rested his chin thoughtfully on his hands and nodded. "That's good to hear, Rogue. What I might suggest is that you do a little extra training in order to better understand how to control these powers so that it's not just a subconscious act. That way you'll have more confidence to use them at your will and command." Rogue groaned but the professor seemed unaffected by her apprehension as he directed his attention to Remy. "Remy, would you be so good as to train with Rogue after school? Since she demonstrated your abilities this morning, I think it would be a good place to start. Do you're best to explain how your powers work and how to control them."

"_Bien sûr, Monsieur_," Remy said with a nod of his head before standing. "But we best be goin' now or we be late t' school."

"Of course. Enjoy the first day of classes."

Remy smirked as he reached into an inner coat pocket and pulled out a dark pair of shades and put them on. "_Oui_, we bein' jus' dat."

Rogue just looked up at Remy surprised by his response as he'd put the sunglasses on. Surely he was still at least a little upset about her request that he cover up his eyes. Instead, he seemed to be making a point of it to the professor. Then it dawned on her, he was demonstrating to the professor that he intended to play by the rules, his way, but nonetheless by some form of the rules. He must have realized that he'd irked Scott that morning enough that it may lead to problems. She took the hand that Remy offered her and stood up remembering at the last second to grab her empty mug as they left the office and were finally able to head out the door to school.


	3. Billy S

**To Umbra, Yuuka-Hanamaya, & FoxyYaoi: **Thank you for the support! I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope that this next chapter meets your expectations.

**Author's Note: **It's a shorter chapter than normal. But it didn't seem right to a) not update and b) to tack something onto the end that didn't quite flow. Hope you all enjoy!**  
><strong>

**FYI:  
><strong>I do not own the X-Men or 'Billy S." by Skye Sweetnam.

**Chapter 3: Billy Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams, the Sentiment's Still the Same.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Rogue had managed to get through homeroom with her head down and without attracting too much attention to herself. So far, so good. She was hoping that most of the students still at Bayville High wouldn't remember or have heard that it was her in particular who'd disrupted last year's graduation ceremony. But she was fairly certain that her luck couldn't last forever.<p>

She slipped into a desk in the back row of her first period class and stared out the window at the bright morning that looked impossibly green and glowing with promise for the day still to come. It was a stark difference to her spirits at the moment. Even though the professor had been anything but mad at her, it still hadn't entirely softened the blow of this morning's training or her anger towards Jean. She wondered what little Miss Perfect would think if she found out that the professor didn't seem to give two shits about the morning's interruption.

"Class, please settle down. I'd like to introduce you to a new student, Remy Lebeau." Rogue's head snapped around at the last two words uttered by her drama teacher and she groaned to see that Remy was standing in the front of her class. Even with sunglasses on, she could tell that he was staring directly at her...either that or the empty desk two feet to her right.

He smirked before striding through the class as eyes and heads followed his graceful movements. He paused by Rogue's desk and smiled down at her. "Dis be nice, _non_? At least _une_ class t'get'er."

"Peachy keen," Rogue responded resting her chin in her hand as she looked up at him. "Ya gonna stand there all period or are ya gonna sit down?" she asked and watched as he finally sat down still sporting a broad smirk. As much as she loved him, she wasn't particularly anxious to find out first hand how his antics would translate into school.

"Mr. LeBeau, would you kindly remove your sunglasses while indoors?" Ms. Maxwell asked, a smile beaming as she waited patiently for Remy to do as she'd asked. "I'm sure you know that the eyes are the window to the soul and this being drama class, I'd very much like to see yours."

Remy hesitated for a moment and then smirked as inspiration came to him. "Dat be hard t' do, _Madmoiselle_. Remy be settin' next t' a _belle fille_ so radiant dat he need his glasses."

"Amusing," Ms. Maxwell said in irony as she made a motion towards her own eyes to indicate that her expectations had not changed.

Remy sighed glancing at Rogue and simply mouthed '_Je suis désolé_' before removing his glasses. He blinked before gazing straight up at their teacher and she sucked in her breath for a moment before clearing her throat and quickly turned to face the chalk board. The rest of the class did not react half as well though as immediately there was a dull roar of whispering voices. "Well, dat lasted long," Remy sighed as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head.

Rogue just fully buried her face into her hands as she heard her name start to pop up in the whispers as their classmates tried to figure out why the handsome, yet creepy-eyed boy would have any interest in 'skunk girl'.

Despite the noise, the teacher began to pass out scripts, dropping them on each desk and thus creating silence one solid thump at a time. "We're going to be covering a 'Streetcar Named Desire'. Does anyone know anything about this famous play?" she asked once it was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop.

"STELLLLLLLAAAAAA!" There was a roar of snickers as one of the boys in the middle of the classroom made ostentatious bows and their teacher gazed heavenward praying for strength and patience.

"Yes, that is possibly the most famous line from the play as it was performed by Marlon Brando for the film version. I will tell you all now that it is normally not so endearing when performed on stage. I'm sure most of you don't realize that this pivotal line is delivered by an alcoholic and abusive husband who has just knocked his wife around to the point where she as run away to the neighbor's." There was silence again as their teacher walked up to the front of the room. "Anyone else have any sparkling intellect they'd like to share?"

Remy raised his hand and Rogue blinked in surprise as she turned to look at him. There was none of his usual swagger, just calm, polite attention being given to the teacher. Ms. Maxwell nodded in his direction and Remy lowered his hand again. "De play take place in N'Orleans where d' playwright, Tennessee Williams, spent a great deal of time. 'S a social commentary on de plight of _femmes_ in de early part of de century at de hands of de _hommes_ in deir lives as illustrated by Blanche _et _Stella sufferin' at de hands of Stanley. It also comments on de fall of an aristocratic _famille_ in a society where dere's a stark difference an' struggle b'tween de rich an' de poor."

The class was stunned into a stupor as they all stared at Remy. Some of them were just trying to sort out what he'd said in his thick accent while others, including Ms. Maxwell were amazed by the depth of his answer. "That's correct, Mr. Lebeau." She seemed to collect her thoughts after a beat and cleared her throat. "We'll be reading the play in class over the course of the next week and will then begin casting and putting it into production for the halfway point of this semester."

The bell rang and Rogue was hesitant to stand back up as she was still staring at Remy in surprise that he actually did, every once in a while, know how to behave himself. "Y' comin', _Chere_?" Remy had picked up both of their bags and grinned at her in his usual cock manner in such a way that Rogue was already beginning to forget what a serious expression had looked like on his face.

"What was that?" she asked as they exited into the hallway.

"What was what?" he echoed as he returned her backpack to her, helping her slip it on.

"In there. All of that stuff ya knew. Ah thought ya didn' get ta go ta school b'fore."

"Remy didn'. Didn' mean Remy didn' read on his own. Y' t'ink dat Remy did not'in' but t'ievin' all day long?"

"No, Ah thought ya spent the rest of yo' day chasin' skirts," Rogue replied and Remy pouted. "Ah know, Ah know, Ah wound ya real bad," she said rolling her eyes and Remy grinned a little despite himself. "Where's yo' next class?"

"Remy got mat' next. Probably not gonna go nearly so well as drama," he sighed before leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "_A bientot, Chere_."

* * *

><p>Rogue didn't see him again until lunchtime when he found her sitting outside under a tree reading from her copy of the script from drama class. He eased himself down to sit next to her and pulled a flask from his bag before taking a swig. She shot him the evil eye over the top of her script and shook her head. "Y' want some, <em>Chere<em>? Sweet tea."

"Seriously?" she asked lowering the script down into her lap.

"_Oui_. What y' think it was?" he asked, amusement dripping from his voice.

Rogue just shook her head again as she reached for the flask herself and took a small sip to taste it before taking a longer drink. "Why the hell do ya have it in a flask?" she asked handing it back to him.

"Was a gift from _mon frère_," he replied with a shrug. "It fit better'n a t'ermos an' not so _bête_," he joked returning it to his bag before easily wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close. "_Allait-il comment votre jour_?"

"Fine," she sighed. "Borin' mostly. Same ol' borin' teachers givin' slightly different borin' lectures."

"Remy be glad t' add more excitement," he offered waggling his eyebrows and she playfully pushed him back.

"Ah warned ya. Ya can' do that stuff here. Ev'ryone knows they shouldn' touch meh. You go an' start touchin' meh all the time an' not end up in a coma an' they'll stop bein' so careful. Ah'll end up with a bunch of dumb thoughts in mah head that Ah don' want at all."

"Ma thoughts still in y' head?" he asked gazing down at her and gently brushed back the strands of hair that fell into her face with the gentle breeze that was sweeping past.

She shook her head. "Ah've got it ta the point now where Ah only have the psyches fo' a brief bit of time after Ah absorb someone. As soon as Ah can focus, they get locked up in some back corner of mah head."

"Y' locked Remy up?" he asked in mock hurt. "Non, y' shouldn' do dat, Chere. Remy could be real helpful."

"Ah'm sure," she replied with an eyeroll. "He'd probably annoy meh all day with tryin' ta convince meh ta steal stuff an' dirty thoughts that would succeed in doin' nothin' but bein' a distraction."

"_Non_, he'd jus' tell y' what Remy would tell y' anyway. '_Vous êtes beau_.' '_J'taime_.' '_Je ne veux jamais vous permettez de vais_.' Jus' t'ings like dat," he said grinning down at her before stealing a kiss successfully before she coudl fight him. Rogue just sighed before leaning into his chest and let him hold her more tightly. "So if dis is all borin' t' y', what y' gonna do when it all be over?"

"Ah don' know," she admitted, shifting so that her head fit in against his shoulder as she looked across the lawn thoughtfully. "Ah don' really think college is fo' meh. Ah might jus' stay here with the X-Men. Ah don' really have family anywhere else. Ev'ryone Ah love is here." She looked up at him and he smiled back down at her. "What 'bout you?"

"Well, Remy be in dis f' y' in de first place, _Chere_. What y' t'ink?"

She blushed in response and he smirked as he pulled her back in so that her head was against his chest and she could easily hear the thumping of his heart. "What 'bout yo' family?" she asked after a few moments. "Yo' brother?"

"Brothers," he corrected her. "Remy has _deux_." She tilted her head back to look at him and he sighed. "Dey tol' Remy t' leave, Chere. Remy can't go back t' N'Orleans without permission. Dey tend t' not like it when y' kill a member of de Guilds," he said with a weak shrug. She gave him a pitying look as she remembered him telling her why he'd had to leave New Orleans which had eventually led to him joining Magneto's Acolytes. While mention of anything related to Bella Donna did not rank high on her list of discussion topics with Remy, she felt bad that it had been such a destructive force on his life. No one should have to leave their family and never get a chance to go back.

"Well, Ah guess ya can stay here with meh too," she said smirking. Remy's expression brightened immediately as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

The warning bell for the end of the lunch period rang and Rogue sat up stuffing the script back into her backpack before standing back up. Remy followed suit and together they walked back into the school. Rogue headed to her locker in order to unload some of her excessive books that she didn't need and Remy leaned casually up against the wall watching as she spun the lock. It released and she pulled the door open and let out a small gasp of surprise to find a single red rose inside. "H-How did ya..."

"Master t'ief, _Chere_," Remy joked as she reached up and lifted the rose down to sniff it's fragrance. Tied to the rose by a green ribbon was a silver band.

She slowly untied the ribbon, allowing the ring to fall into the palm of her gloved hand as she studied it up close. It was decorated with a repeating pattern of the four playing card symbols and she smiled up at him. "Thank ya. Ah really like it. Ah jus' wish it didn' have ta be covered up all the time."

Remy reached into his pocket and then held up his hand to allow a long silver chain to dangle. "In de meantime, y' can wear it on dis. But someday, y' gonna get control. Remy know it," he said confidently as he took the ring and slipped it onto the chain before motioning for her to spin around. She obliged him and held up her hair as he hooked the chain around her neck. The ring fell just above her neckline and she smiled as she fingered it for a moment before turning to smile at him. "Y' best get goin' or y' gonna make Remy late f' class. Y' don' want _moi_ in detention already, do y'?" He bent down and kissed her quickly on the lips before turning and giving her a small wave of his hand as he disappeared into the mob of students rushing from lunch to class.

* * *

><p>Rogue wasn't entirely surprised when she walked into her last class for the day and found Remy to already be sitting near the back of the room, his long legs stretched out in front of him. It was advanced French conversation after all. His smile broadened when he saw her standing in the doorway and he playfully patted the desk next to his as she walked towards him. "<em>Bonjour, ma cheri<em>."

"_Bonjour_," she sighed a little less enthusiastically. She had only taken this class because it seemed like a better option than taking another science or something she cared even less about. She always managed to scrape together good grades, but she didn't feel like she was grasping the language fully and was afraid that this year, French would be a lot more than reiterating vocabulary back at the teacher. "Ah can't believe the professor is lettin' ya take this as a class. He's always pushin' us ta challenge ourselves."

Remy just shrugged. "Petey be takin' Russian. Guess de professor figures we need eased int' school more'n de rest of y'."

Rogue just snorted. "Yeah right. Ah've seen ya shmoozin' yo' teachers. You'll have better grades'n meh."

"Den Remy be y' _professeur_, _non_?" he offered as their teacher began to hand out textbooks. "How could y' fail wit' _ma_ help?"

Rogue was forced to smile as she nodded her head and accepted his offer before their professor began class. Rogue's good mood was quickly ended by finding out that the entire course would be conducted in nothing but French. English was to be left behind in the hallway. She was so glad it was the last class of the day because she wanted nothing more than to get out.


End file.
